Spiritual Development
At Seal CE Primary, we define spirituality as an ongoing, reflective journey. It is something that teaches us about questioning, understanding and relationships: relationships with ourselves, others, the world and beyond.
How do we develop spirituality?
1. Encouraging reflection on our own beliefs, religious or otherwise
Some of our learning experiences ensure opportunities for pupils to reflect upon that they believe in Collective worship and class worship ensure opportunities for reflection daily. Our character education ensures pupils have opportunities to reflect upon what they believe to be important. We embrace spontaneous conversations about what pupils believe in the windows, mirrors and doors reflective tool allows opportunities for pupils to learn to live out their beliefs and values.
2. Improving knowledge of, and respect for, different people’s faiths, feelings and values
We celebrate other religions and raise awareness of different religious festivals. Our Rights Respecting Curriculum raises awareness of global issues, different faiths and values. Children learn that everyone has the right to think and believe what they choose and also practise their religion (article 14). Our well-being lessons encourage children to improve respect for different feelings and values. Our restorative justice system helps children to improve respect for people who feel differently about a situation to us, and helps them to understand others' perspectives. We encourage spontaneous conversations about different people's faiths, feelings and values.
3. Encouraging a sense of enjoyment and fascination in learning about themselves, others and the world around them
Inspired play in the EYFS encourages pupils to be fascinated about the world around them. Our learning experiences begin with 'hooks' which intend to develop curiosity and fascination about learning and our purposeful outcomes ensure pupils enjoy learning. Our forest school and farm education encourages enjoyment and fascination for learning. Our spontaneous spiritual moments where we take pupils to look at something fascinating, such as experiencing the rain or frozen spiders webs encourage children to be fascinated about the world around them. Our well-being lessons are tailored to ensure pupils gain self awareness and enjoy reflecting on themselves.
4. Enabling pupils to use imagination and creativity in their learning
Collaboration and creative thinking are important aspects of our lessons. We ensure pupils are thinking actively and creatively solve problems in order to learn. Our use of reflective journals ensure pupils are able to present their work creatively in a way which suits them so that pupils have ownership of their learning. Our curriculum ensures pupils have opportunities to be imaginative and creative, for example when creating narratives, or deciding how to create a piece of artwork. Forest school ensures pupils are creatively collaborating in order to solve problems and pupils use their imagination within their forest school experiences. Inspired play (in the EYFS) and play for the main school ensures pupils have opportunities for child initiated play, leading to many opportunities for learning and development.
5. Encouraging a willingness to reflect on their experiences
Reflection is core to learning, and we ensure pupils are continually reflecting upon their experiences within lessons, and outside of lessons.
The windows, mirrors and doors tool enables reflection on pupils' experiences. Pupils reflect at the end of each experience to consider what they have learnt, what their learning means to them and anything that they might do differently. Our curriculum ensures that we give pupils a breadth of different experiences and pupils are encouraged to reflect upon them. Our Rights Respecting Curriculum ensures that pupils have opportunities to empathise with those who are less fortunate than we are, and reflect on how that might feel. Our restorative justice system allows pupils to be reflective on situations that arise and learn more about themselves, and others
